Hydrogen Internal

Combustion Engines (“HICEs”)

Hydrogen Policy Described

• Mandate the CAA CFFP program nationwide

• Mandate the CPP nationwide

• Tax incentives for auto companies to: develop HICE vehicles, engage in R & D partnerships, and establish a H2 infrastructure

• Funded research into H2 production and storage

• More funding for HICE

R & D• H2 as a natural gas

additive –15% pipelines• Fossil fuel disincentives

Problems H2 policy should address:•Consumer access to a H2/ LH2 infrastructure (centralized or decentralized)•Government investment into HICE vehicle development•Government funding for H2 production•Establishment of uniform safety rules for H2 production, storage, and handling

CONCLUSIONS• HICEs are a viable alternative for bridging

the gap to the H2 fuel cell economy

• HICEs may be a viable long-term possibility as the ICE has undergone 100 years of refinement

• To lessen greenhouse gases and foreign oil dependence, the government should encourage the transition to the H2 economy with large investments in R&D, subsidies and tax incentives, and CAA amendments

Encouraging HICEsEmpirically• Today’s safer, cleaner

vehicles are the result of regulations

Subsidies vs. Taxes:• Auto companies’

ability to absorb further costs

• Loss of revenues from fossil fuel taxes

• Tech-forcing

Status Quo HICE Policy• February, 2003 proposal• DOE-EU agreement• Senator Dorgan’s proposal• Freedom car

– Demonstrated refueling

– Commercial codes, standards

– H cost equivalent to gas

– H ICEs

– Improved manufacturing

Foreign Oil Dependence• Imported oil

comprises 55% of U.S. consumption

• Transportation comprises 2/3 of 20 million bbl/day in U.S.

• H2 vehicles would reduce consumption by 11 million bbl/day by 2040 (EU plans 20% by 2020)

EARLY HISTORY OF H2• 1800: Electrolysis

• 1820: Reverend W. Cecil proposes HICE

• 1874: Jules Verne

• 1860-70’s: N.A. Otto uses ICEs and mixed H fuel

• 1930-40’s: Rudolf Erren develops HICEs

• 1950: Francis T. Bacon

Military Research into H Vehicles

• 1943: Air Force investigates LH2 fuel

• 1956: Lockheed

• 1960’s: ‘Nuclear Powered Energy Depot’

A B-57B airplane that flew with one engine fueled by liquid hydrogen

The Modern Era of HICEs• 1972: Urban Vehicle

Design Competition – UCLA Gremlin wins

• 1972-3: International H2indenburg society

• 1980’s: H-fueled airplanes (NASA continues to study

FC airplanes)

MODERN H2 VEHICLES• 1993: Ballard FC bus developed

• 1995+

– CTA FC buses

– Royal Dutch/ Shell

– FC prototype cars

– BMW HICE vehicles

– H refueling stations

open Ballard phase 3 FC buses,

in Vancouver and Chicago

1990’S SOLAR H2 PRODUCTION

1990: Solar-Wasserstoff-

Bayern

1992: Freiburg solar plant

Produces, stores H2, LH2

1994: HYSOLAR Saudi-

German plant

Companies making HICE prototypes• Daimler-Benz:

hydride HICEs, 1984-8

• GM has created a HICE prototypes

• Mazda, Cadillac: HICEs and hydride HICEs

Mazda hydride HR-X prototype

Cadillac prototype HICE

Ford & BMW HICEs

• BMW: 1999 fifth generation prototype, LH2 commercially available

•Ford: 1999 announced P2000

HICE (H2, LH2)

H Refueling Stations2003:• Shell plans a H2 refueling station

in Luxemburg; others in California, Iceland, Japan, Holland, Norway

• California, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois H2 refueling stations

• Washington, D.C. demo refueling project planned

• EC International Hydrofueler Project

• Reykjavik, Iceland H2 bus refueling station opens

• 1999: Hamburg, Munich, Dearborn

LH2 refueling station, Munich airport

Honda solar H2 station in Torrance, Ca.

How HICEs Work

• 2H2+02= 2H20 + heat

• H behaves like octane

• Compressed H2 takes up more room than gas

• Unlike gas, which needs strict air-fuel ratio

• More explosive than gas, timing critical

• Injected fuel delivery BMW HICE bus engine

BMW Hydrogen 7 Series IC Engine

Converting ICEs to HICEs

• Same basic design

• Minimum cost: 1,000$

• Other modifications needed for power, safety, efficiency

• Limited availability

• 1994 CAN Project

H-Gas Mixtures• H2 can be used as an additive - pipelines• HYTHANE: commercially available, 20%H, 80% CH4. Higher percentages of H require engine

modifications

• separately to blend with other fuels; mixed in gaseous state before injection (impractical) • Low boiling point causes fuel ice

H Onboard Storage Issues

• EFFICIENCY: Gasoline is the benchmark

• Ambient state demands binding H to a hydride, gas compression, or cryogenic cooling

• No consensus

• Infrastructure cost vs. onboard extraction

• CARB vs. FordMetal Hydride

Hydride Storage•1960’s R&D in the U.S. & Netherlands

•Metal alloys, absorb H2 at higher temp./ pressures

•Heat released when H2 absorbed, same heat required to release H2

•D-B used radiator heat to de-bond H2 but dropped hydrides for FC buses, methanol FC cars

•Toyota*, Mercedes, D-B experimented with hydrides

Hydride ViabilityAdvantages:• Storage: the H takes up

no extra room• Efficiency: hydrides carry

more energy per volume than LH2 (‘compressed’ >1000x) & carry 2.2X more than compressed H2 at 5,000 psi

• Safety: no onboard tank of H2 or LH2

Disadvantages:• Weight: a 100-liter

titanium-iron tank has 1.2-1.5X energy as 100 liters of LH2 but weighs 25X

FC & iron-titanium-magnesium hydride

Compressed Gas Onboard Storage

Compressed H2

storage has been used in:

• Mercedes NECAR-2• Ford FC concept car• Daimler-Chrysler FC

buses• Neoplan vehicles

Compressed H2 Onboard Storage

ADVANTAGES:• Easiest form of H

storageDISADVANTAGES:• Backfire, engine

knock are problematic

• Despite extreme pressure, compressed tanks occupy so much space that they are only practical for buses or vans

Cryogenic Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Onboard Storage

• Cryogenically-cooled LH2 is BMW’s preference

• The Musashi Institute of Technology has also investigated this

• Requires an extremely pressurized tank to keep the LH2 in liquid form

A BMW, “in operation since 1990, equipped with an aluminum alloy tank that carries 120 liters of LH2 and with a 68 kg aluminium-alloy tank with a capacity of about 120 liters of LH2”. From: www.linde-anlagenbau.de/en/p0001/p0043/p0046.isp

Viability of onboard LH2 storage ADVANTAGES:

• Lowest cost/ unit energy

• Lowest weight/ unit energy

• Easier supply logistics

• Fast refueling

DISADVANTAGES:• Loss of fuel when not

operational• Large tank needed• Cryogenic engineering

obstacles• Energy to cool LH2

Other Possible Storage Methods:• CARBON-BASED FUEL EXTRACTION:

depending on the availability of H2/ LH2, for both HICEs and FC vehicles, the onboard production of hydrogen is a possibility, from carbon-based fuels

• NANOTECHNOLOGY:graphite nanofiber tubes store 65% H2 by weight.

-DOE funded, then withdrew

-Ford continued the R&D

-GM later questioned the 65%

Hydrogen Sources

• H is a common element but must be pried from other substances and thus is not an energy ‘source’

• A consensus exists that H2 is an ideal fuel, but not about the ideal source

• The best production alternative may vary by locality

ELECTROLYSIS

Electrodes in conductive water

(with an electrolyte) produce

H2 at the - & O at the +

• ADVANTAGES:

– Produces almost pure H2 (electricity through water)– Could be powered with cool renewables– Hydrogen is abundant– No moving parts; servicing rarely necessary

• DISADVANTAGES:

– Currently not cost competitive– Fossil fuel-powered electrolysis – Amount of energy needed to divide H2O = amount

given off when H2 burns

Solar-Powered Electrolysis

• Honda doing this in Torrance,

California• HYSOLAR: began making H2 in 1994• Solar-Wasserstoff-Bayern in Bavaria• CAN project

Nuclear-powered Electrolysis

• It’s a feasible alternative

• Anti-nuclear sentiment may prevent nuclear H2 production

• NRDC opposed; spent fuel

Making H2 from Natural Gas

• Stripping H2 from natural gas is called ‘reforming’

• Reforming natural gas emits CO2

• Outfitting a gas station with a machine to reform natural gas would cost $400,000 (building a conventional gas station costs $1,500,000)

Getting H2 from Coal• Coal-fired utilities

can power electrolysis

• The current administration is attempting to build a coal-fired plant that emits no CO2

Underground CO2 Sequestration• Proposed plant would

remove CO2, sequester it , and turn coal into a gas from which H2 is made

• The prototype plant is ¼ the

size of a large coal-burning plant

• In 1986, CO2 escaped from Cameroon’s Lake Nyos and killed 1,700 villagers

H2 Production from Bacteria

• Some anaerobic bacteria can produce H2 at 20 times their volume per minute

• When starved of sulfur, Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii makes H2, one of ten most important discoveries in 2000

(popular science magazine)

Power Output of HICEs

Challenges facing HICEs:Challenges facing HICEs:– Backfiring common - premature

ignition near the fuel intake valve

– To reduce Nox, the air/fuel ratio can be increased, reducing power output to half a gasoline engine’s

– To compensate for lost power, HICE engines are usually larger or have superchargers

– Ford claims that superchargers provide near-zero emissions and power equal to a gas engine

Are HICEs unsafe at any speed?

• H2 is volatile and is 10x more explosive than gasoline

• H leaks and static present risks• Special sensors and ducts that pull in fresh

air may be necessary whenever HICEs are parked indoors

• Stringent, universal safety regulations are needed for storage, handling, and disposal of H2

BMW Tests indicate HICEs are Safe

• ’94 BMW: safety valves of double-walled LH2 tanks were blocked, cooked, shaken, rammed with pole; slow LH2 leak, no explosion

• H2 escaped after 10 minutes in open fire; burned with no effect on tank

• OTHER TESTS: some tanks burst under extreme pressure buildup

Ford’s 2000 H2, LH2 vehicles

• Model U concept car: 3 millimeter aluminum barrier tank, carbon-fiber structural casing, rated to a pressure of 10,000 psi

• P2000 FUEL system - redundancy for safety:

– fueling system under trunk– Triple redundant system based on natural gas,

designed to use H2 natural dispersion– H2 ventilators– Sensors in engine, passenger and trunk compartments– Alarms triggered at concentrations below

flammability – H2 detected = fuel system/engine starter disable, roof

opens, ventilation fans activate

H2 Safety & the Hindenburg• The Public perception of H2?

• 1997, Addison Bain, former NASA H2 program manager presented findings:

–Static and flame accelerants (painted on the skin), not H2, were causes

–Based on Analysis of surviving Hindenburg remnants

Is Hydrogen Fuel Safer?Former Lockheed Manager: maintains

air crashes involving kerosene fuel would have resulted in fewer deaths if H2 were the fuel:

–H2 volatile/ burns quickly–H2 vaporizes/ disperses quickly–Less fire area

–Radiated fire heat is less with H2–No smoke from H2 fires–LH2 safer upon impact than kerosene

H2 vs. CONVENTIONAL

FUELS1976 Stanford Research Institute: no clear answers; physical/ chemical properties of H2 differ, comparisons are misleading

1974 NASA study: road transport of LH2 presents fewer ignition risks

First H2 pipeline: ships H2 to chemical plants, has operated safely for years, but the H2 is only 95% pure, at low psi, in a narrow pipe

1993 German H2 study

H2 SAFER: – Vaporization– Cloud formation – Fire, thermal emissivity

H2 RISKIER: –In enclosed rooms –Customer handling of H2 demands technical safety measures (self-adjusting gas sensors linked to ventilation systems)UNRESOLVED:

–Questions remain about pipeline embrittlement, feasibility of high pressure H2 pipeline

HICEs & POLLUTIONADVANTAGES:• Emissions are a fraction

of convention ICE emissions

• Ford HICEs emit almost no pollutants and are 25% more fuel efficient than gas ICEs

• H2/ CH4 mixed fuel emits extremely low NOx

DISADVANTAGES:• High temperature H2

combustion makes Nox• NOx emissions = ¼ that of

gas, can be lessened with additional control equipment

• Even without after-treatment, NOx emissions are low

• Fossil fuel electrolysis lessens pollution gains

Barriers to Commercial Availability

• H2/ LH2 infrastructure needed

• Low cost H2 production needed

• Economics of H2 cars are ill-defined

•ICE-HICE conversion availability

•Like current vehicles, H2/LH2 vehicle designs will likely vary

•Lack of uniform regulations of H2

Commercial HICE Availability• Shell: “marathon, not a sprint, and the race has just

begun,” H2 fuel network by 2030-2050. Others estimate 10-50 years to the H2 economy

• BMW’s HICE cars are available today• John C. Anderson, Pres. & CEO of AFS says:

(1) the existing ICE infrastructure (2) the demand for clean emissions; &(3) H2’s flammability characteristics

make H2 the “ultimate low cost fuel” which, when widely available, can be adapted to conventional autos and diesel engine vehicles

What if FCs are the future?• BMW’s future could be adversely affected

• Unlikely soon:– FC engines 3x as heavy as ICEs– No transport FC mass production – Most H2 vehicles produced are HICEs

• HICEs offer a good opportunity to improve the H2 infrastructure as HICEs are “comparatively easy to produce”

• HICEs can bridge the gap to H2-fueled transport that eventually incorporates fuel cells

ARE FUEL CELLS BETTER?• Fuel cells are more

efficient than HICEs but less efficient when operated on methane

• Barriers exist to FCs as ‘dual fuel’ vehicles, and thus may be less feasible than HICEs in the near future unless H2 onboard conversion materializes

•FCs cars are the best for zero emissions

•FC cars average 60 more mpg than BMW’s HICEs

•FCs cars are far more costly than HICE vehicles

THE EU IS DOING MORE

• March 2003 DOE-EU joint effort

• EU: 20% alternate energy fuel sources by 2020, plans to develop H2 tech while sharply tightening fuel efficiency standards

California Fuel Cell Partnership• Corporate members have 6 H2

stations; at least 8 H2 filling stations in southern California

• 12 more planned• The partnership has cut the

number of H2 vehicles it plans to require car companies to produce

Centrally Fueled Fleet Program (CFFP)

• H2 is a CAA Clean Fuel

• The CFFP applies to states with serious or worse O3 non-attainment

• Requires fleets to use a % of clean fuel vehicles

• Not vigorously enforced; voluntary as of 1995•EPA of 1992: CFV purchase incentives for public/private fleets & incentives for fuel suppliers

CAA California Pilot Program (CPP)• Increases CFV availability

(requires 300,000 yearly)• Credit program (excess

CFVs or buy credits)• SIP mandates sufficient

clean fuels be produced, distributed by fuel suppliers (profit incentive)

• CARB’s LEV program differs – clean fuels must be available, not produced

• Serious/ worse O3 non-attainment states may opt in

• Opt-in states cannot mandate CFV sales or alternate fuel production and availability (incentives instead)

H2/LH2 INFRASTRUCTURE• Centralized or

decentralized?

• Assuming a centralized infrastructure, oil companies estimate that consumer interest depends on a new fuel being available at 30% of gas stations

• 180,000 gas station in the U.S

Centralized Distribution• Infrastructure cost: $100 billion+

– H2 storage (or stainless steel tanks for convertible methanol), manufacturing tankers

• Exxon-Mobil: “the verdict is still out on whether H2 will ever become a mainstream fuel”

• Predicted route of development:– Centrally fueled fleets– Dispersed locations– Gas stations conversion

• Rate regulation?• Local variation by optimal source

REPAIR INFRASTRUCTURE

• HICEs have the advantage over FC vehicles

• Developed economies already have ready access to HICE repair

• Adequately trained technicians and equipment still are needed for HICEs; ICE-HICE conversion not readily available

Decentralized H2 Infrastructure• Retrofitting CH4 pipelines favors

centralization; long term localized production will favor decentralization

• Honda & GM are discussing bypassing gas stations in favor of letting consumers buy/ lease home H2-fueling machines

• For consumers, the ability to refuel at home may justify higher fuel costs

• Some advocate onboard stripping of H2 from carbon fuel to avoid H2 transition difficulties

Conclusions• Regulatory mandates;

CFFP, CPP nationally?

• Tax incentives, subsidies for HICE R&D, investment • Incentives and

regulatory mandates to develop a fueling infrastructure

• Standardization of H2 safety codes